Substance Use Disorders
This section provides EMS professionals with resources and training focused on identifying, managing and responding to patients with substance use disorders (SUDs). Articles cover recognition of drug and alcohol use in the field, treatment best practices, harm reduction strategies, and the evolving role of EMS in the opioid crisis. Learn how to address provider safety, compassion fatigue and stigma, while improving patient outcomes through evidence-based care and community partnerships.
Learn how the Philadelphia Fire Department redefined service delivery, funding and success
Is your agency in compliance with requirements? How can you protect yourself and your staff from the fallout of drug diversion?
The program aims for nurses to work alongside police officers to assist individuals struggling with substance use disorders and mental health
Tucson Unified and Amphitheater Public Schools are both stocking Narcan doses in the event of an overdose
Consisting of a police officer, a paramedic and a mental health representative, the team follows up with overdose patients within 72 hours to offer support
Terre Haute police and fire departments will each receive 60 kits over a six-month period, while the sheriff’s office will receive 12 kits for the six-month time frame
Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Carlos Rosario shares his recovery after being struck on a roadway and promotes safety during Distracted Driver Awareness Month
After two paramedics were charged with taking drugs from the voluntary drop box, officials are wondering how effective the program is
Public safety experts discuss how they were able to identify and implement forward-thinking local approaches to address national problems like cardiac arrest and opioid overdose
Jon Cinelli and Jeremy Pecoraro were arrested on suspicion of criminal possession of a controlled substance and were suspended with pay
Paramedic Dane Arredondo is charged with stealing several different kinds of drugs from the Oglala Sioux Tribe Ambulance Service on the Pine Ridge Reservation
Lake County officials are concerned about the 21 percent rise in local drug overdoses last year
Medical Director and Emergency Physician Gene Hern explores the potential for treating patients with opioid use disorder with buprenorphine
Titrating naloxone through an intranasal dose through a nebulizer and monitoring with capnography can reduce the risks of opioid withdrawal symptoms to the patient and EMS provider
David L. Gardener was arrested for battery of a police officer after he was removed from the back of an ambulance for drinking saline from bags
I was unprepared for the sheer number of alcohol withdrawal patients I would see as a correctional physician
Board certified emergency medicine physician Bryan Bledsoe says EMS providers rarely need to administer naloxone
Citing the impact of widespread addiction on public resources, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against pharmaceutical manufacturers and retailers
EMS records show Nathanial Rhodes was taken to the police station instead of the hospital after a vehicle crash, where body cam footage shows him collapsing
Rotating pharmaceutical stock, and exploring alternative pain management and expired drug options can mitigate EMS drug shortages
Researchers found that the FDA and opioid manufacturers failed to monitor the restricted use of a powerful type of fentanyl even after problems were discovered
NH Project FIRST enlists “quick response teams” to return after an overdose call and offer to connect individuals with services at their local treatment hub
Opioid deaths decreased 4 percent, from 2,056 in 2017 to 1,974 deaths last year, according to the latest quarterly report
Natacha Davis stood before 300 first responders and told them how the caring she found at a fire station helped her to finally overcome her addiction
Dr. Donald Hinderliter allegedly prescribed 832,994 pills to 462 patients over two years, averaging 1,803 pills per patient
Terry Ramsay allegedly suffered a heroin overdose and struck a New Hanover Regional Medical Center ambulance transporting a patient
Consider a variety of funding sources and make your case for why you need it, how you plan to use it and who will benefit
A program to safely dispose of unwanted medication is expanding with the aim of helping curb prescription drug abuse and overdoses
Wilmington’s quick response team consists of a group of health experts who contact overdose survivors in an effort to direct them toward treatment
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said they captured nearly 254 pounds of the deadly synthetic opioid from a load of Mexican produce
Manufactured, concocted and blended opioids require EMS training, PPE and decontamination strategies
Clark County Commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt said “a coordination of efforts among many different agencies” has helped decrease the number of fatal overdoses
